Color!

To start out...I looked for the specific prompt for this blog and the most updated information I could find was "blog post requirements to follow"...so I'm just going to talk about what i liked about the reading....but anyways I have to admit I was somewhat confused in class last week when we did our intro to color.  I understand the gist of it, and how the basics are red blue and yellow and every other color is formed from that, and how hues and tints work..but the actual "science" of it phased me a little.  However once i dug into the reading I understood more about the concept of color and what makes it so special.  One comparison Itten made about color struck my attention, and that is how color and music are so simmilar- two things i would have never put together.  He also compared musicians and painters to each other, saying "a musician may know counterpoint and still be a dull composer, if he lacks insight and inspiration.  Just so, a pointer may know all the resources of composition in form and color, yet remain sterile if inspiration be denied him."

This chapter also stressed just generally how important color is to our world.  Color is what gives the world life, and with out it, everything would be dull and dead.  Our world comes alive and functions through the use of color.  Even though we may not realize it, color has a huge impact on our lives.  Naturally we see dark colors as something that is sad, frightening or negative, and lighter warmer colors as happy, peaceful, or positive.  It is our natural intention to be happy when a rainbow is in the sky and sad or concerned when the sky is full of dark thick clouds.

It was helpful to learn more details of the study of color, especially approaching the topic in three directions- impression, expression, and construction.  Breaking color down into different categories allowed me to focus in on a correct way of studying colors- looking at the visual aspect, then an emotional, then a symbolic.  The rest of the explanations all seemed a little repetitive but I got the basic idea between relationships of colors and how they interact and interchange with each other.

Basically, what we did in class became a lot less confusing once i read about color hues and tints and was able to sit down and study the formulas and look at the wheel to really understand how they function.

Proposal: Round II

Ok, so two weeks ago I wrote some jibble-d-jab about not knowing what to do.

I STILL DON'T HAVE A DEFINITIVE GOAL.

But, I think I'm getting closer!

I'd like to keep doing what makes me happy, what's interesting...

Alof of what I had proposed originally really doesn't fall under any of that. I like the idea of... simplicity, or... Patterns. And detail. I do all of that..

So the goal is to combine all of those, and to somehow expand my materials use at the same time.

If anybody has any comments, I'd LOVE to hear them. Anything will help...

--Andrew

New Proposition

Originally my proposition was to be five paintings portraying movement. However, after my ten original sketches, and some suggestions from my professor, I decided to narrow my idea down. From my ten sketches the ones that stood out were the ones of different facial expressions, so I decided to make my final proposition focus on the movement of the face, specifically facial expressions. On top of that a few of my paintings are going to be inspired by different artists. My first two portraits, of my friends Phil and Madison, are different, but in a similar style. So, at the suggestion of my professor, to change up the style of each portrait I should use a different artist as inspiration for my final three portraits. For the third portrait I am using The Portrait of Gertrude Stein by Picasso as inspiration. For this one I want to use an amplified color palate, line, and more painterly strokes to imitate the style Picasso used. For my fourth portrait I want to use Franz Hals as an inspiration and for my fifth I want to use a pop artist as inspiration to make the five portraits vastly different, but still portraying my original idea of movement in the face. While not all the faces are making an obvious facial movements, they are still different expressions and each portrait will portray different emotions and will be inspired by different artists.

Proposal Version 3.0

Alright, on my way to sort of starting over I have yet again changed paths. The idea of simply re-creating a strawberry left behind, I first began thinking of ways to carry my liking of the strawberry into my new concentration. I was heavily considering a series of large works (not HUGE but large by my standards) that were up close, distorted studies of the air bubble's distortions to the strawberry, where you could sort of recognize that it was a odd up close strawberry, but not really. I was going to place a lot of emphasis on the color as well, keeping with the deep reds that I liked about the original picture, but creating new contrast as well. I didn't know what medium to use because Prismacolors were to slow and not practical for large scale works, I don't really know how to paint so if I was to experiment it would be with something simpler like acrylics instead of oils, watercolor was an option, but it wouldn't be bright enough and the edges could never be quite bold enough. It was then that I considered doing the drawing or outline in ink and then going over it with watercolor in an exaggerated fashion, but it still wouldn't be as dark or bold as I was wanting, it would just be lightly toned paper.

So it was then that I really started thinking about this as a technique. Sure, it probably wouldn't work for something I wanted to be bold like the strawberry, but it could work for other things.

One thing that I remembered that I have, is a lot of pictures from my grandmother's farm. They are mostly just random images of old objects and such, but I think they're interesting and they have meaning to me. So I wondered how it would work to draw the random objects as studies using a micron pen or something, and then go over them with watercolor. The images are not especially colorful, and using true and exact colors wouldn't be very interesting, so I instead figured using simply earthy tones over the entire page would work okay. That way I could do a few, and they would be tied together not only by their relations as old farm objects, but also in technique.

Thus, I have decided to do ink studies of random farm objects, both from personal pictures, and then through the use of online pictures as well if necessary. I don't know that I would even stick to just objects, I might do things like old farm buildings as well. But, anyway, the ink studies, then shaded with cross hatching, and then lightly washed in earthy tones using watercolor, to give and old, rustic, and nostalgic sort of feeling.

Updated Proposal: A Dictionary of Puns

I would like to create a clever body of work that makes people laugh using my love for play on words. Incorporating many common idiomatic phrases in my pieces such as “busy bees”, “putting all your eggs in one basket”, “hit two birds with one stone”, and “couch potato”, I want to show the humor and ridiculousness of these phrases by portraying them visually. Additionally, a goal of mine is to convey a sense of awkwardness in my works that makes them more humorous and intriguing for the viewers. While Peter Bruegel’s main goal in working with common phrases of his time was to teach moral lessons, I want to make people laugh. I also want to explore the ambiguous nature of these phrases, by contrasting the real and the imagined in my works. To do this, I will show the real aspect of the phrase through a photograph, while the imagined will be through drawing. I plan on juxtaposing the images together through photoshop. Then I would like to print the images on nice paper and work with drawing and possibly collage to give a more handmade feel to the work and make it more interesting. I think that using pen over the digital image will also serve to connect the real and the unreal. Compositionally, it will also connect the photo with the painting better.

I want to place my works in the context of an Idiomatic Phrase Dicitonary. I think that a dictionary will be humorous and it will also tie all the works together in an interesting creative way. I plan on making categories for the phrases such as Food Puns, Religious Puns, Sports Puns, and Anatomy Puns. Each category will have an image of a pun to represent it. Also, framing my work in the context of a book would further develop a sense of irony since my idea deals with some of the absurdities in language and books are typically places for writing.

I want to use a book that I created by hand as my dictionary, so that the dictionary will be entirely mine. I plan on gluing each page into the book that I have already created. Also, I want to design a cover for the book so that it has the feel of an actual dictionary. I may scan the pages so that my book may be viewed digitally too.

David Rokeby

David Rokeby was born in Canada in 1960. He has been creating interactive sound and video installations with computers since 1982. For the first part of his career he focussed on interactive pieces that directly engage the human body, or that involve artificial perception systems. In the last decade, his practice has expanded to included video, kinetic and static sculpture. Several of his works have addressed issues of digital surveillance. Other works engage in a critical examination of the differences between human and artificial intelligence. David Rokeby's installations have been exhibited extensively in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

One of Rokeby's most interesting pieces to me was "Long Wave". "Long wave" is a site specific installation that was commissioned by Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts + Creativity and was on view at the Allen Lambert Galleria, Brookfield Place, Toronto, June 5 - 20, 2009. It is a 380 foot long, 60 foot high sculpture tracing a helix through the entire length of the galleria. The helix is constructed from 63 large red spheres hanging from the Santiago Calatrava designed arches of the galleria, rising from just above visitors' heads right up to the vaults of the ceiling.

The "Long Wave" represents sound waves- which are normally invisible. It is interesting to note that something such a sound wave that plays such a large part in our lives is often overlooked. Rokeby challenges this by creating "Long Wave" to show how great an impact sound waves have our lives. The wave hangs above the visitors head- sort of looming there- uncontrollable and unpredictable. The "Long Wave" almost looks like the back bone to an animal, this be a metaphor inferring that sound waves are the back bone to society. I love the color red that Rokeby chooses. It has such a presence and many different meanings. Sometimes the color red can be violent.. other times it can represent freedom and hope. This also plays into how sound can affect society based on what the sounds are. For instance the sound of war may ensue fright while the sound of a sweet lullaby could cause peace and happiness.

Materials

In the reading on matter, I found the discussion about how to choose materials really interesting. I think that the author is correct when he says that “the range of matter is to great to lock oneself into.” When I was in elementary school, I always saw sculpture as limited to common materials such as clay, wood, and metal. Now however, I would agree with the author because our materials are endless. Technically, anything around us can be used as a material. This notion reminded me of the gallery we went to on a field trip, when we saw the artist who used dental floss and balloons in for her sculpture. I think that using unexpected materials often times can make a sculpture look more interesting. I really enjoyed the different examples of using different materials for different purposes. Particularly, the table attached that is entirely crafted after metal is really intriguing because it goes against our expectations of materials. It is really cool how the scene of a set table can be entirely recognizable with a different material. I think that using an unexpected material puts an interesting twist on a piece. In the future, I think that I would like to be more experimental with my materials.

Will Cotton

Will Cotton is a contemporary artist currently working in New York City. He has earned his BFA Cooper Union and his MFA at New York Academy Art. He directed the Katy Perry “California Girls” music video. While he works with a variety of different mediums such as drawing, sculpture, and painting, Cotton’s work all center around candy in a very surreal way. For example, in some of his realistic oil paintings, he replaces the hair with candy ribbon. Also, he paints a lot of surreal Rubeniste paintings where the clouds are cotton candy.

I find his cake sculptures really intriguing and interesting too look at. I love how realistic they are. Yet, at the same time they seem absurd. I think that his color placement very well balanced, and the pastel colors give optimistic and light hearted feel. I think that his attention to detail in the icing really draws the viewer in and holds his attention. The cakes remind me of weddings. Perhaps, the massive amount of cakes collapsing on each other could be representing the absurd consumption of weddings. Another interesting part of the sculpture is that he is able to use very recognizable shapes in our culture to create a very organic shape.

Andreas Slominski

Andreas Slominski is a comtemporary artist who creates simple yet compelling colorful sculptural flowers. In his latest show in London he did a series of these flowers that represent the social and financial unrest throughout europe. He shows this through the bright, branching forms of the flowers that remind me of snowflakes or garden decorations. Their designs have a graphic form to them that comes from the combinations of basic shapes and lines that connect them and gives them a clear and almost playful feel. One piece has a two branches but only one has a blue flower. The other side looks as if it had been plucked off which is a metaphor for financial cuts taking place in many european countries. It is a simple shape created out of welded metal but it has a visually interesting pattern. Andreas Slominski creates relevant and current pieces that are a commentary on world events and are also artistically creative.

The Value of Sculptural Materials

One idea in the Matter chapter in The Sculptural Idea that I found intriguing was the section on “the intrinsic character of the material”. It is interesting to think about the physical and psychological effects of the materials themselves rather than the sculpture as a whole. The idea that the material of the sculpture gives another dimension to affect a response from the viewer in a similar way to the colors of a painting. However it is more complex than a painting in the idea that a piece of blue painted metal will create a different feeling than a blue strip of cloth. The artist can take advantage of the primal instincts a viewer will have toward the different materials and use them to craft a certain emotional response to the sculpture as a whole. Combined with color and form this allows the artist to create a very specific type of feeling for the whole piece. I find it very compelling to think about all of the possibilities an artist has with sculpture in order to elicit different emotions from a viewer and also how each person will interpret the use of materials differently.

James Norton

James Norton is contemporary artists whose work emphasizes the expansion of material available for current art. He is a sculptor who creates individual pieces rather then installation art out of a huge amount of cable ties. Most of his pieces are shapes suspended from the ceiling. I think the reason why I find them so fascinating is because of how typical his medium is. By essentially creating massive chains of something so simple, he creates something so complex. Ironically, his process is certainly not that trouble-free. You can tell in each piece that there is care, there is a pattern, and a plan used to complete the end result. He also uses color to add another level of complexity to his work. He seems to place balls of color within the larger object creating a nest and egg type thing that looks very natural. On the other hand the harsh and sharp lines of the cable ties give the pieces a somewhat aggressive and hostile effect. The safety of a nest or a home in juxtaposition to the severe material presents an interesting contradiction in my mind. Overall I like his pieces and appreciate his methods and outcomes.

David Phelps

David Phelps is the contemporary artist I have chosen to focus on for this study. He first came to mind because I saw one of his pieces in person on the OU campus last spring, and I remember loving it but I didn’t pay any special attention to whom the artist was at the time. So a couple of weeks ago when I saw I short article on him, with the piece I had seen, I became intrigued and decided he was an artist I really liked. His sculptures are usually huge and cast in bronze. They are traditional in the sense that they are realistic depictions of humans, and bronze is a very traditional sculpture medium. However he is untraditional in his posing and placing of the models. Each is in a position, or doing something in the water. For instance in his work, “Oarsman” it is simply a man rowing a boat, but he makes it interesting by placing it as it would actually occur in water, on land. Instead of the man rowing across a lake, he appears to be out for a relaxing afternoon on a brick walkway in Tennessee. So as beautifully realistic and relaxing as his sculptures are, they are juxtaposed on completely unexpected terrain, giving the artwork a fun and unexpected twist.

It is or it isn't?

Throughout the presented stories, what I was most intrigued with was the argument posed: How do you define what is sculpture and what is instillation? I am of the opinion that they are almost one and the same, but I am sure there are artists out there who view themselves as sculptors and would be appalled to be called ‘instillation artists,’ and likewise many instillation artists whom would never refer to themselves as sculptors. However if this line between the two really does exist, how and where should it be drawn? In the story on matter, matter is referred to as pretty much any sculptural tool, but to be defined as a tool representative of sculpture is restricting, because many of the materials described as matter are used in other areas of art. This whole idea brings back the topic from the beginning of the year where we tried to discover what was really drawing, for instance, it could be many things, not just drawing with a pencil on some paper. So what is really happening here and with every aspect of art, is that the lines are starting to blur. The edges and definitions we have used are starting to disappear, and calling something a ‘drawing’ or ‘sculpture’ has become a much more defining and hard to accomplish task. The role of the artist has started to complicate itself because we no longer even know an exact title for what it is we’re doing anymore, which if you think about it, is kind of hilarious.

Damien Hirst

A contemporary artist who does sculpture and installation work is Damien Hirst. Hirst is a British artist who is an active member in YBA or Young British Artists. His work circles around the theme of death. Some of his most famous work the materials are simply a huge tank full of formaldehyde and a dead animal, including a shark, sheep, and cow. Some of the animals were even dissected before being put into the tank. Much of Hirst's work in very controversial and he is a controversial person as well after making some insensitive jokes about the 9/11 attacks against the twin towers in the United States. One piece of his, a rotting cow and bull, was pulled out of a show due to the inhumanity and unsanitary quality of the piece. Health officials banned the piece because they feared visiters might even throw up when they saw the piece. Hirst's other works include "For the Love of God", a platinum cast diamond encrusted skull that cost around $14 million dollars to make with an asking price of $50 million. If this piece were to ever sell during Hirst's life it would be the most expensive piece sold while the artist is still alive. The piece was inspired by Hirst's mother who asked him once, "For the Love of God what are you going to do next?" While I don't particularily like Hirst as a person, he has done well with his work and is successful with his sculpture and is known throughout the world; He is even the worlds richest living artist. He uses all materials from from dead bugs, pills, formaldehyde, and diamonds to make his sculptures

Matter

The two questions that were asked that I find most interesting in this piece is "Should a dematerialization and the elimination of function take place, or should the material remain in context or in its natural state and location? In the case of a found object, should the material be its own reality or should it be reshaped or distorted into the sculptor's concept of reality?" These two questions arise different points of view art can be taken from. For an artist, rule bending and breaking should and can be allowed, but this writer is asking, should they? This is where the question of reality versus conception presents itself. In art is it the sculptor's concept of reality that matters or is it the their job to make sure the material remains in context? This is interesting that this was brought up because most would assume that the sculptor's concept of reality is more important and that their vision should be the thing that is obvious to any on lookers. The other question asked that I found particularly interesting was "if this object is of such beauty or ugliness, why remove it from its context?" This is interesting to me because, as an artist, I think if something is beautiful or ugly it should be used in art and can be taken out of context. An artist is there not only to follow the general rules of art, but to bend and break them and make whatever they want out of their art. Something that is beautiful or ugly can also be used in context, but can also be taken out of context and made into something that has to do with the sculptor's concept of reality and particular project. This piece, overall, was very interesting and gave me an insight to sculpture and what it really means for artist to be able to form ideas and use any matter as their material.

Sculpting Materials and installation artists and such!

What struck me about this chapter was that I never realized that so much thought goes into selecting materials.  I never realized this was such an important element in creating a piece of art, and I wasn’t aware of its true importance.  I think it’s cool that artists can sculpt with pretty much any material they want, and it broadens their horizon in the process.  I was interested in the way sculptures select materials and what influences them.  At first I was confused with this idea because sculptures have two options in regards to selecting materials- they adapt the material to their initial idea, and them build the initial response off of that.  I don’t really know what that means, but then as I read more It explained how it’s a physical and metal element being put together that makes selecting certain materials work.  Kind of like a ying and yang idea- two materials you choose to work with can be totally opposite, but they still need to be able to mesh well together.  I think that’s a great perspective to look at that I have never really thought about before.  I think its important to experiment with lots of different materials so it is clear to see what works and what doesn’t.

One installation artist I really admire is tracy lee stum.  She basically rocks my world.  What I really like about her work is that she takes a material so childish and unsophisticated and uses it to its upmost capability to create some of the most unbelievable realistic art I've ever seen.  It's hard to believe that what you're looking at is actually chalk.  Not only are the details, colors, and accuracy impressive, but the element of these pieces that is the most impressive is the perspective and how realistic it looks.  I have very mixed emotions when looking at these drawings, I either get the feeling of vertigo because i feel like someones about to push me into/down her drawing, or i just sit there in awe and disbelief because I can't belive this is real life.  I would post a picture, but theyre all so amazing so see for yourself!!!!!!!

http://www.tracyleestum.com/

Thoughts on Reading

The most intriguing point that continuously reoccurred in my mind due to its reoccurrence in the readings was the concept of the history and growth of sculpture over time. The Vitamin 3D, New Perspectives suggests that, “We are far from the days when sculpture served the sole purpose of monument or memorial”. In the past, sculpture was primarily a form of art made 3 dimensionally using very classic skills, technique and material. Now, “everyone is welcome and anything goes”. I admire the idea and progress made within the contemporary sculpture/installation art world as it expands the space and meaning artists now can use, but this idea seems far more liberating than I believe it actually is. While installation art and sculpture bear no rules anymore, the creativity and possibilities are almost endless. My fear is of the length artists will go to create something evocative and new, and how far is too far? The use of human bodies has been done as well art with very outrageous meaning behind it, so at what point will material and meaning become far too shameful for viewers to handle. The answer is, “at the present time, any and all materials are fair game for the sculpture” (Matter). That “fair game” is what I believe could lead to artistic social turmoil.

Matter, Sculpture's Expanding Field

            When reading these two articles, I thought it was hilarious how much the concept of sculpture has changed in the last hundred years. I have always labeled myself as a conservative when it comes to art, 2-D and 3-D; when I read the world "sculpture” in a textbook, I always expect an inset picture of a classical piece, like Michelangelo's David, or Nike on Samonthrace, which were simple, representational creations. Instead, there are pictures of contemporary, abstract sculptures with complex, underlying meanings to them, and I don't even know where to begin analyzing.

            Getting to the actual readings, Matter stood out more to me than Sculpture’s Expanding Field, which is almost ironic, because the whole time only one thing shouted out to me: “Duchamp, what have you done?!” I guess where I’m going with this is that found object sculptures, or using found objects in conjunction with other objects have become so increasingly popular since the 1910s, it boggles my mind. My little conservative mind never thought that found objects would overtake marble or stone sculptures, but the invasion started way before my lifetime, way before I was old enough to even make a difference. I have never been able to understand the messages they’re trying to get across upon first glance; it feels like artists nowadays are taking the idea of intellectual rigor and running for the hills with it.

            In Matter, the author asked if putting an object in a representation/reconstruction of its natural environment would be better or worse than taking it out of its environment and distorting it to fit the artist’s vision or reality. I already mentioned that I have a mindset of nearly every artist before 1900, so my blunt answer to that question would be “let it be, a urinal was not meant to be on public display.” But putting on my modern artist hat, I understand that Duchamp and subsequent found object artists like him want to push the boundaries of what we call art, whether it be genuinely or comically. I thought Fountain was absolutely hysterical, but that’s because I saw it as art as we know it going down the toilet. Other people see it with different connotations, and I respect that. I suppose I have a hard time understanding why no one else wants to walk through a modern art museum and see a colossal marble statue of a figure, but I can grasp why playing around with light bulbs, stools, and trashed urinals would be a more interesting concept to the increasingly curious artist.

Danh Vo - JULY, IV, MDCCLXXVI

In this exhibition, Danh Vo, a Danish artist, wanted to investigate the concept of American freedom, hence the exhibition's name's reference to July 4th, 1776. He had copper replicas made of various, identifiable parts of the Statue of Liberty, like her massive toes, her torch, and pleating of her stola, and had them laid out all across a gallery space, as though she was still being assembled back in the late 1800s. With this strewn collection of colossal statue parts, he placed a miraculous find: the original typewriter on which terrorist Theodore Kaczynski wrote his Unabomber manifesto. These two contrasting images examine the idea of freedom and challenge the viewer's concepts of the pros and cons of the American political system. 

What I thought was so interesting about this exhibit was that Vo basically recreated the original Statue of Liberty; this was how she looked back in 1875, in her original copper state, and we get to see it face-to-face and explore the truly awe-striking and iconic pieces of her image. But at the same time, this classical throwback is coupled with a modern struggle that we didn't think we'd find ourselves facing: in the United States of America, we open our arms wide and welcome immigrants, travelers, and refugees to our land, but at the same time, we find ourselves letting in people who mean us harm, and is that right? We can choose to deconstruct our idea of freedom by forcing severe limitations upon prospective citizens, basically looking over their shoulders until they prove to us that they mean no harm, or we can keep our image of equality for everyone, and let slip past our borders terrorists, spies, and conspirators alike.

Also, I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite poems, Ozymandias while looking through the exhibition photos. The exhibit makes me worry about the soundness of our country; are we doomed to wither away some day, or will we somehow manage to uphold our glory, legacy, and physical country? Such mind boggling questions, but I love the intellectual challenge of this exhibit. I really wish I could have seen it myself, it would have been awe-inspiring!

Here is the exhibit page!

contemporary artist

Artist: Jang Yong Sun

Jang Yong Sun is a Korean artist who was a part of a solo exhibition entitled “Particles of Dark Matter”. In this exhibition, he has a series of interesting sculptures where he creates giant organic shapes through welding together a multitude of steal rings. These sculptures appear to be meticulously formed to emphasize the organic structures that they have become. I think what is most interesting about these sculptures is the sharp contrast between the substance used to create the forms and the forms themselves. When we think of steal, even though it can be manipulated, we perceive it as non malleable because of its purpose in every day life. But Jang Yong Sun contradicts this preconception in this exhibition through his fantastical works. I wasn’t able to find any of his artwork outside of this exhibition and it also seems that very little information is published about him but what I have seen seems pretty interesting.